FORT PIERCE — Fort Pierce Central's football players don't need any reminders of last year's 13-10 loss to Bradenton-Manatee in the Region 3-7A championship. That's because most of them have watched the tape of the game so many times that they nearly have it memorized.

Here are some of the lessons both teams learned from last year's game.

FOR FORT PIERCE CENTRAL

BELIEVE FROM THE BEGINNING

Central simply didn't look like itself in the first quarter against Manatee last season. A handful of players have admitted that it took the first 12 minutes to realize that they could play with the Hurricanes. The game was tied at 3 after the first quarter, but any kind of hesitation this season could lead to a Manatee rout.

"Going into the game, we knew they were really good," Central receiver Josh Knight said. "After the first couple quarters, we knew we could play with them. We figured out we can play with the best and compete with the best. This year, we know we can do it. We're ready."

RUN BETWEEN THE TACKLES

Manatee arguably has the nation's best defensive line, but Central cannot abandon the run, especially when they have a weapon like Marcus Levy in the backfield. Central rushed the ball 34 times last year — including sacks — but averaged only 1.9 yards per carry.

"They're big and we have to use different personnel matchups on the offensive line," Central coach Josh Shaffer said. "It's a matter of having perfect technique and blocking those guys in the middle, especially. I look at how we attack them in the run game and controlling the two inside guys. We have to be able to run the ball inside."

FOR MANATEE

STOP CENTRAL'S SCREEN PASSES

Manatee was able to shut down Central's running game last season, but the Cobras had success throwing screen passes. Considering how dominant the Hurricanes defensive line is, Central most likely will use a quick passing game to keep Manatee off-balance.

"We've got to stop everything," Manatee coach Joe Kinnan said. "They are going to spread the field, and we have to be fundamentally sound and rally to the football. We cannot allow too many big plays. They have a lot of big runs and big catches."

OPEN UP THE OFFENSE

Immediately after last year's win, Kinnan said he regretted not using a more aggressive game plan on offense. Manatee had only 204 yards of total offense and mustered just a pair of field goals.

"We didn't play well enough (offensively) for us to win but, sometimes in a championship game, you've got to make or break and hope your defense plays well," Kinnan said. "Our defense and kicking game bailed us out. It's going to take a total team effort to win this one. Their last loss was to us, and they are playing at home, so that's an advantage."